Redefining single-sex education through strategic partnerships
At the heart of Sydenham High School GDST lies a "girls-first" philosophy designed to foster confidence, academic ambition, and intellectual risk-taking. However, the school’s leadership has long recognised that the most effective preparation for a 21st-century global society involves a sophisticated synthesis of single-sex pedagogical expertise and co-educational social dynamism.
Through a network of strategic partnerships with neighbouring institutions—Dulwich Prep & Senior (DPS), and Dulwich College, including Dulwich College Junior School (DCJS), Sydenham High has pioneered a "hybrid" framework. This model allows students to benefit from a tailored academic environment while gaining the social intelligence required for a ‘coeducational’ world.
A Foundation in the Great Outdoors: Early Years & Forest School
The collaborative journey begins at the earliest stages of education. Sydenham High Prep School engages in regular Forest School sessions with DPS. These sessions move beyond the traditional classroom, utilising natural environments to foster child-led learning and problem-solving.
Scholarly research suggests that coeducational play in natural settings is instrumental in dismantling gendered play patterns before they become ingrained. In the Forest School setting, the emphasis is placed on collaborative engineering—such as building shelters or managing "mud kitchens"—which establishes a foundation of mutual respect and teamwork between boys and girls from a young age.
Prep School: Developing Intellectual Agility
As pupils progress into the Prep School, the partnership with Dulwich College Junior School shifts the focus toward high-level critical inquiry and technical collaboration. Two key pillars define this stage:
Philosophy & Debating: Through joint Philosophy sessions and debating workshops, students engage in verbal reasoning and ethical debate. This prepares girls to articulate complex arguments in a coeducational arena, building the communicative competence necessary for future leadership.
STEM Collaborations: Joint STEM workshops bring students together to tackle scientific and engineering challenges. While Sydenham High maintains a strong independent focus on girls in STEM, these collaborative sessions allow pupils to lead in technical fields alongside their male peers, actively shattering stereotypes regarding "gendered" subjects.
One Voice with Dulwich Prep & Senior
The Senior School and the "One Voice" Initiative
In the Senior School, the collaboration with DPS matures into the "One Voice" partnership. Centered around Year 8, this initiative involves mixed-group research projects on themes such as community, identity, and social responsibility.
According to research by the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST), girls are significantly more likely to take the lead in these mixed settings when they have already established their intellectual "voice" in a single-sex classroom. The "One Voice" project serves as a bridge, allowing students to apply their leadership skills in a broader social context.
Sixth Form: The Advanced Electives Series
The partnership reaches its academic peak in the Sixth Form through the Advanced Electives Series with Dulwich College. These university-style seminars—covering niche subjects such as Anatomical Studies, Architectural History, and Critical Theory—mimic the undergraduate experience.
By participating in high-level academic discourse with students from Dulwich College, Sydenham High’s Sixth Formers develop the "intellectual agility" required for universities. This exposure ensures that the transition to higher education is seamless, as students have already mastered the art of debating and collaborating within a diverse intellectual environment.
The Pedagogical Evidence: The Diamond Model
This strategic approach mirrors what educational theorists call the "Diamond Model." In this structure, students are educated in a single-sex environment during their formative years to maximise academic focus and break gender stereotypes, while social and enrichment bridges are built to ensure they remain integrated with their peers.
Scholarly research, including meta-analyses by Pahlke et al. (2014), highlights that while single-sex schools excel at fostering academic risk-taking, particularly in STEM, controlled co-educational interactions are vital for reducing "gender othering." The Sydenham High model achieves this by keeping the core academic day girls-only, while integrating high-value collaborative opportunities.
Conclusion: Future-Ready Leaders
By maintaining a girls-first core while facilitating high-level coeducational bridges with the Dulwich schools, Sydenham High School GDST ensures its pupils are not only high achievers but also socially adept, empathetic, and agile. They graduate not just as successful students, but as leaders ready to navigate and shape a complex world with confidence.
January 2026